Download | Torrent | Release Notes | Blog Post | Docs | Patch Releases
Unity 2017.1 is now available on the download page (or as a torrent) and read the release notes.
Read the blog post for full details.
This release includes our new artist tools:
- Timeline - create cutscenes, create gameplay sequences, and much more, by orchestrating your game objects, animations, sounds and scenes
- Cinemachine - a suite of smart cameras that dynamically trigger the best shots at the best time based on scene composition and interaction
- Post-processing stack (beta) - use image post-processing effects to simulate physical camera and film properties
Productivity improvements to the editor include FBX import, animation workflows, 2D functionality, working with assets bundles and Visual Studio integration.
2D features & improvements:
- 2D Sprite Atlas - it comes with new and improved workflows that give you more control for packing sprites and using them at runtime
- Sprite masks - used to either hide or reveal parts of a Sprite or group of Sprites in world space
- Sprite Physics Shape - this has been added to the Sprite Editor and allows users to set a custom default shape on a Sprite for generating collider shapes with a PolygonCollider2D
Animation improvements:
- New keyframing workflow
- Statemachinebehaviour can now also be debugged in play mode in the editor
- GameObjectRecorder is a new experimental editor feature which allows you to record any properties on a GameObject and its children
Playables API:
- Provides a way to create tools, effects or other gameplay mechanisms by organizing and evaluating data sources in a tree-like structure known as the PlayableGraph
- PlayableGraph - allows you to mix, blend, and modify multiple data sources, and play them through a single output
Ambisonic audio:
- The full-sphere surround sound technique which also covers sound sources above and below the listener
Asset Bundle browser:
- Enables you to view and edit the configuration of Asset Bundles for your Unity project
- Intended to replace the current workflow of selecting assets and setting your Asset Bundle manually in the inspector so you now are able to view all Asset Bundle configurations in one centralized location
Scripting Runtime experimental upgrade:
- C#6 and .NET 4.6
- IL2CPP fully supports the new .NET 4.6 APIs, so you still get the benefits of writing in C# and getting performance of native C++
Model importer improvements:
- Digital Content Creation workflow has been made easier with the first set of significant improvements in the process of importing assets from popular DCC tools like Maya
- FBX import in Unity now supports Segment Scale compensation for models exported from Maya and the FBX SDK has been upgraded to 2016.1.2
Progressive lightmapper:
- Added support for baked LODs - it will now not be necessary to author Light Probes around the LODs to get bounced light on them
- Added support for double-sided materials in the Progressive Lightmapper by adding a new material setting that causes lighting to interact with backfaces
Realtime shadow improvements:
- Optimised the culling of shadows casters for cascaded directional light in stable mode
- Shadowmask and distance shadowmask light modes are now a Quality Setting and they can be changed at runtime without any cost
- Added the Custom Render Textures as an extension to Render Textures, which allows you to easily update said texture with a shader
Particle System improvements:
- Support for using Sprites in the Particle System via the Texture Sheet Animation Module
- Noise Module comes with new options to provide greater control over how the noise is applied to your particles
- New donut emission shape and edit modes for Particle system collision mode planes in the Shape Module
- Particles can now apply forces to the Colliders they hit using the Collision module
2017.1 also introduces Unity Teams (which includes Collaborate and Cloud Build), live-ops Analytics and more. Read about it all on the blog post.
Remember to back up your projects before downloading the latest version of Unity and check out the release notes. If you encounter any issues, please let us know by submitting a bug report so it can reach our developers. Future patch releases for fixes will be found here.
Thanks again to all the users who helped with testing and giving us feedback on 2017.1 while it was in beta! Notice that we’ve locked the 2017.1 beta forum, so please create your new threads in the appropriate sections of the Forum. We’ve also released the 2017.2 beta, so head over to the 2017.2 beta forum if you want to participate in the discussions.
